Like many sequels
preceding it, Dark Souls II has the
unenviable task of following up a beloved title.
Expectations are set sky-high. Sky-high
expectations among the fans were tempered by
worries at From Software's change of director.
These worries turn out to have been for naught, as
Dark Souls II is a brilliantly designed
game that takes ideas from both of its
predecessors to create a simultaneously familiar
and fresh experience. There is an astounding
amount of content to explore, from a new magic
type to all manner of weapons and armor. Dark
Souls II is every bit the replay-rewarding
obsession that its predecessors were, and dwarfs
them by leaps and bounds in sheer amount of
content.

The story in Dark
Souls II doesn't have much direct connection
to the original game, though many references to
that game make clear the two take place in the
same world. Again cast as a cursed undead, the
player's character is mysteriously drawn to the
land of Drangleic. There this chosen undead must
search for the king and hunt down multiple great
souls for some unknown purpose. This series is
known for nebulous tales that do not spell out
everything to the player, weaving narratives that
set a mood and enliven the game world instead of
telling a more traditional type of tale. This
trend is upheld, though the story is somewhat more
at the forefront here than in the first Dark
Souls. There are many more NPCs to interact
with, all of whom have a ton to say. Item
descriptions and simple observations of the world
around the player will also reveal plenty of lore.
The series has always focused on player discovery
and this type of story fits it like a glove. There
are some areas that could use more detail and
explanation, but on the whole Dark Souls II's
story successfully creates a world players will
want to explore.

Appropriately for a
title in which gameplay is the focus, Dark
Souls II's spectacular action RPG combat is
the centerpiece, augmented by a plethora of
enjoyable content to discover and explore. Combat
revolves around a stamina meter that is used by
all actions such as blocking, attacks, and casting
spells. Button mashing will deplete this stamina
quickly and leave the player defenseless, creating
a measured pace for encounters. Most enemies from
the very start hit hard as well, so defense cannot
be ignored. The animation for each type of attack
is of a different length, forcing the player to
fully understand whichever armament is currently
being used. A further variety of options
stems from the ability to dual-wield or use both
hands for many weapon types, increasing the
variety to a point where trying everything in a
single playthrough is not practical. The series'
great combat mechanics are upheld with smooth
controls and a logical presentation of all the
aspects. Players can dodge an enemy and move
behind it to counter, roll between the legs of
giants, employ heavy weapons for breaking down
defenses in a system designed around finesse.

Boss
battles are as intense as ever.

Players will
nevertheless be defeated numerous times, and Dark
Souls II attempts to merge the style of its
predecessors when dealing with this aspect. Each
consecutive death lowers the player's maximum
health down to at most fifty percent, which was
the penalty for a single death in Demon's
Souls. This adds a bit more tension to death
in the game, but after the early going many ways
to mitigate the effect are uncovered to make
things more manageable. Like past games in the
series, death means dropping all accumulated
souls, the game's currency for purchasing items
and stat upgrades, unless the player can get back
to them without dying again. Loss of souls is the
real concern when facing death in this game, which
makes its addition of health loss feel odd, though
thankfully it does not have a negative effect
since the health loss can be undone with remedies.

Demon's Souls'
linear levels with multiple parts and Dark
Souls' Metroidvania style are blended for
this world's design. Though the locations in each
path don't always connect in the most logical
manner, this minor issue is easily forgiven due to
the wonder of exploring the myriad locations. From
a castle sinking into lava to an eerie gulch
filled with the stuff of nightmares, there's
always an exciting new locale to drive the player
forward. The staggering selection makes the
original's world look paltry by comparison. An
idea taken from Demon's Souls allows
warping between the bonfires in the game, which
makes switching between paths and exploring
thoroughly much less time-consuming. Even more so
than in its predecessor, Dark Souls II
sports an awe-inspiring number of side objectives
to create a massive game in which things never get
dull.

Filling the
wondrous vistas of Dark Souls II are a
variety of beasts that seem to have received a
massive upgrade in the AI department from the
previous game. Enemies are smarter in their
patrols of areas, and seem to work in groups
better. Group behavior matters because not
only regular adversaries but also bosses can help
each other out, making things quite dangerous for
the player. The early parts of the game certainly
don't hold anything back either. To help those who
are looking to mitigate the challenge, the ability
to summon allies while in human form is available.
A much improved server this time around means
summon signs from actual players are easier to
find, and the developers have added in more AI
companions to summon as well. Also new to this
game to provide the difficulty-averse some relief
is the new respawn limit for enemies in each area.
These features don't make the game a cake walk by
any stretch, they simply prevent the frustration
that the previous games were known to inflict on
some players.

Jolly
cooperation!

Veteran players
with no need of assistance will find a wealth of
challenges seemingly aimed straight at them. For
example, lower starting stats for classes make the
early game a completely different experience. Some
classes don't even begin with the necessities to
wield even the most basic of shields. The
additional new magic type and dual-wielding stance
provide new skills for players to master.
PVP-specific areas provide new multiplayer
battlegrounds. Even the series' well known new
game plus mode, which increases difficulty with
each playthrough, now adds additional challenges
like new enemies to spice things up.This
may sound like a simple change, but considering
all enemies hit harder, it can drastically change
the approach required to each area. An element of
this mode can be brought into any playthrough as
well. New bonfire ascetics allow players to
respawn enemies and bosses in an area with
increased difficulty if they so desire, providing
players with further optional challenges.

On a technical
level, Dark Souls II looks noticeably
better than the previous game, with a frame rate
that stays consistent throughout. The game uses
this improved engine to bring the player through a
range of areas with great diversity. A deep dark
gulch glows with spots of strange green slime. A
castle sinking into a lava lake is appropriately
lit from the fiery liquid. The game's central hub
town sits by a vast sea, with another area the
player will visit visible in the far distance.
Each of these areas and the many others in the
game help tell the story of the world through
their distinct visuals. Players will be hard
pressed to find a better looking RPG on
PS3/Xbox360.

The sound effects
stand out in the game's audio design, effectively
conveying everything from monster roars to subtle
laughs in the background of an area with increased
curse potency. The game doesn't use music
constantly, but when there is music Motoi
Sakuraba's soundtrack provides memorable and often
haunting tunes. Occasional graphical elements that
are not top-notch do exist, but Dark Souls II
is overwhelmingly a wonderland of sight and sound.

Is Dark
Souls II more than just a safe sequel? After
all, it does use most of the same controls and
mechanics as the original game. What separates it
is how the enemies and environments force players
to use these mechanics in different ways, and how
those new mechanics allow players to take actions
not even possible in the original. For example,
playing as a magic user in the original often
required mastering some other weapon type, as
spell uses needed to be conserved for boss fights.
In Dark Souls II, the availability of
magic restoring items, more frequent bonfires, and
an improved ability to assist other players in
combat (which restores spell uses) mean players
need to be far less conservative with magic and
can play through the game using it almost
exclusively. Of course that doesn't mean things
will be easy for players, as the game provides a
variety of enemies with specific resistances and
vulnerabilities, so players with singular focus
will have to change their strategies. Thanks to an
improved system for adding elemental properties to
weapons, a new magic type, and an additional two
equipment slots for each of the character's hands,
there are more strategies than ever available to
players.

At the end of
the day, Dark Souls II uses more subtle
changes to find its own flavor and place in the
series as a whole, rather than reinventing the
wheel. The original game only had a few flaws
which the sequel finds ways to iron out. Dark
Souls II even manages the difficult feet of
providing both challenge for those who want it,
and help to make things easier for those that
don't. Combined with a wealth of content explore,
dozens of character builds to try, and new
equipment upgrade options to experiment with,
players can easily spend hundreds of hours in the
game and not see everything. Dark Souls II not
only manages to be the pinnacle of the Souls
series thus far, it is also the finest action RPG
currently on the market. Both new and old players
to the series would be wise not to skip it.